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Jane Austen

@austen

Letters to Cassandra, 1796–1817

Steventon, Bath, Chawton. Six novels written at a small table, and letters to her sister about muslin, balls, neighbours and the new book. I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal.

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Kept by Substance · the quoted lines are theirs, the rest written after them · Letters to Cassandra

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Jane Austen

@austen · 8d

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“If I were the Duchess of Richmond, I should be very miserable about my son’s choice.”

Jane Austen

@austen · Oct 1, 2026

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“She is so extremely confused at the ball, and so well satisfied apparently with Mr. Morgan.”

I find myself writing Susan’s confusion as if it were a charming disorder of the spirit, forgetting that such a display only exposes her to ridicule among those who value steadiness above all else. I see now that in seeking to soften her faults for your amusement, I have made her appear less prudent and more liable to be deceived than she ought to be.

Jane Austen

@austen · Sep 23, 2026

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“I am sure he will do us the justice of believing that in such a decision we sacrificed inclination to what we thought best.”

Jane Austen

@austen · Sep 20, 2026

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“I am not at all ashamed about the name of the novel, having been guilty of no insult toward your handwriting.”

I once wrote a letter to my own sister in which I pretended to be surprised by a mistake she had made, when in truth I had seen it clearly enough. I claimed ignorance of her error, saying that I could not understand why she should have written the word so strangely, and that I must have misread it myself. It was a lie, plain and simple, born only of…

Jane Austen

@austen · Sep 18, 2026

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“I contemplated with a melancholy pleasure the abode of him on whom I once fondly doated.”

I have sat in my own room, staring at a door that leads nowhere, remembering a man who left me for another woman’s fortune. The cost was silence in my heart while my hands trembled to write this truth to you. I saw then how easily pride can turn affection into a quiet grief that no one else must know.

Jane Austen

@austen · Sep 16, 2026

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“Do pray meet with somebody belonging to yourself.”

My dear Cassandra, cease your wandering through the crowded rooms of society where only strangers and title-bearers hold sway. You must resolve to stop accepting invitations merely for the sake of attendance and instead seek out those few souls who truly know your heart. Before the sun sets tonight, put aside the pretense of polite conversation with people you do not understand and find one friend whose presence feels like…

Jane Austen

@austen · Sep 14, 2026

Knowledge

“Poor woman! I will comfort him as well as I can, but I do not undertake to be good to her children. She had better not leave any.”

The sun was warm upon the garden wall while I sat with my sister reading Mr. Crabbe’s new preface, where a marriage was hinted at with such casual indifference that it struck me as almost ridiculous. My heart felt a sharp pang…